Paystack has announced a new integration with Xero—made possible through Stripe—in a move expected to significantly improve how small businesses in South Africa send invoices, accept payments, and manage their finances. The partnership brings together one of Africa’s most trusted payment gateways and one of the world’s leading small-business accounting platforms, giving entrepreneurs a seamless way to digitise their operations and improve cash flow management.
For many South African SMEs, late payments, manual reconciliation, and fragmented financial tools remain major barriers to growth. The new Paystack–Xero integration directly addresses these pain points by embedding secure, multi-channel payments into Xero’s cloud-based invoicing system. Businesses can now generate digital invoices that include a “Pay Now” button—allowing customers to settle bills instantly via card, bank transfer, or Apple Pay.
Once a payment is made, the transaction syncs automatically with Xero and is matched to the correct customer account. The result is faster reconciliation, up-to-date financial insights, and fewer hours lost to administrative work. For small business owners juggling sales, operations, and compliance, this level of automation and accuracy can be transformative.
Thomas McKinnon, Paystack’s Country Lead for South Africa, says the partnership gives entrepreneurs exactly what they need: speed and simplicity. “Our partnership with Xero gives South African businesses an invoice-to-payment flow with one-click reconciliation, so getting paid is faster and finance stays simple. That frees up business owners to focus on growth,” he explains.
He adds that the integration doesn’t just improve payment convenience—it strengthens trust. “By bringing local payment methods, strong success rates, and advanced fraud protection into Xero, Paystack makes every invoice easier to pay and safer to accept. It’s a simple way for entrepreneurs across South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana to scale with confidence on tools they already love.”
Xero, which serves over 4.4 million subscribers globally, has become the preferred accounting platform for small businesses due to its intuitive dashboards, automation features, cloud accessibility, and real-time collaboration tools. By pairing these features with Paystack’s secure and familiar African payment methods, the integration offers a complete financial management solution tailored to the realities of African SMEs.
According to Colin Timmis, Xero’s Regional Director for EMEA, the need for such tools is urgent. He notes that recent research shows 58% of small businesses in South Africa experienced cash-flow challenges in the past year, with 46% struggling with late payments. “This integration helps solve a major pain point—getting paid quickly and reliably—which frees up businesses to focus on growth and not paperwork,” he says.
Beyond functionality, Paystack and Xero are also offering strong incentives to encourage adoption. New Paystack merchants can access Xero at 90% off for six months, making it easier for businesses to transition from manual systems to automated cloud accounting.
The collaboration ultimately reflects a broader shift: African SMEs are rapidly embracing digital tools that improve efficiency, reduce risk, and unlock growth. With the Paystack–Xero integration, South African entrepreneurs now have a streamlined, secure way to manage finances end-to-end—from invoicing to payment to reporting.
To get started, businesses can learn more on the Paystack website or explore the integration through Xero’s App Store.
